Vanished
by MoxiesdenLovesShandy
Summary: A little boy goes missing after his father took him camping. This missing persons case went cold and Andy is asked by Robby Oderno to go over it with a new perspective. Andy gets the rest of the team involved in the case.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Here's the next story! This story picks up the next day after the events in "Swiping Assets". Warning: this is going to be a dark and sad story so sorry if that bothers some people.

Chapter 1

It was Tuesday morning and yesterday, Provenza and Sykes were at the courthouse all day waiting for the sentencing hearing on Ally Moore. The rest of the team had dealt with miscellaneous paperwork until they had returned later that afternoon. Sharon had told them all to go home and they did. Andy had got a call that night from Robby Oderno saying that he had dropped off a file on Andy's desk and asked him to take a look at it when he could.

Now that the team was back in the morning, Andy had briefly read the report that was left on his desk. Missing person cases were always hard on the families and on the police as well. This one was no exception. A little boy had been missing for a couple of months. Robby had hoped that Major Crimes would be able to find a new lead as all of his on this case were frozen. That's at least what he had told Andy in the note that he left with the file.

Andy glanced up at the calendar on his desk. It was almost Memorial Day weekend and they were scheduled to be off. He had promised Sharon, Matthew, and Rusty tickets to the Dodgers vs. Cubs game that Monday, which meant that if they did take on this case, it would give him and the rest of the team one week to solve it.

Sharon had told him to find a dirt bag so that she could arrest him, and maybe then things would get back to being normal after the whole Ally Moore situation. Andy was hopeful with that, and he was hopeful with this case. He looked up from his desk to see Provenza walk back into the office. "What are you reading, Flynn?" Provenza called out to him as he sat down at his desk.

"Some missing persons case that Oderno wanted me to take a look at. He said all of his leads on this case froze up and wanted another pair of eyes to look it over," Andy explained as he stood up with the file in his hands and walked over to join Provenza at his desk.

"What? Missing Persons is giving us their cases to solve now? As if we didn't have enough work of our own to do," Provenza shook his head. "Would you relax!" Andy said and handed him the file. "This is a sad case," he added as he stood there. Provenza looked over the file. "Of course it's a sad case, all missing persons cases are sad," Provenza claimed as he read the report.

"Says here that the father was found not too far from where the boy went missing. The boy went with his father camping in Topanga State Park in March of this year," Provenza read and then he glanced up at Andy. "Who goes camping in March?" Andy asked. "I don't know," Provenza stammered and then handed the file back to Andy.

"It also says further down, if you read the whole thing, that the father was found on Palisades drive not too far from one of the trails. He was beaten up and his car was wrecked," Andy continued to explain to Provenza. "So, what do you want me to do? We just got done with one case, in case you don't remember, you want us to take on a missing persons case now? It's almost Memorial Day weekend, Patrice and I have plans to go out of town!" Provenza stated.

"I know, we have plans too, but I think this should be looked at," Andy said as he glanced over at Sharon who was sitting in her office. "Fine," Provenza muttered and then Andy started putting some things on the Murder Board.

Julio and Amy walked in with Mike. They were returning from the break room and saw Andy standing at the board. "Did we catch a case, sir?" Julio asked Provenza. "Robby Oderno gave Flynn here a case that went cold on him and he wanted another pair of eyes. I think we can take a look at it as a team and, who knows, maybe solve it in time for the weekend!" Provenza said. "But I am warning all of you, this is about a missing boy, just so you know," he added and pointed at each of them. They nodded and returned to their desks.

Sharon looked up from her paperwork and saw Andy putting some things up on the Murder Board. Had he gotten his dirt bag for her to arrest so quickly, she thought to herself. She shook her head and decided to join the team. "What's going on here, Lieutenants?" Sharon walked up to the Murder Board as Andy turned around.

"This is the case that Robby wanted us to take a look at. He said something didn't sit right with him on it and wanted another pair of eyes to look through the file," Andy said to her and handed her the file he was holding. She remembered him calling Andy last night about a case, but then Andy had distracted her. She paged through it and stopped at the picture of the young boy. He couldn't have been much older than Matthew. "So what's going on with this?" she asked him.

"Well, from what I have read so far, the father, a Mr. Colin Paxson, took his son camping at Topanga State Park back in March of this year. It was his weekend to have his son and when he didn't return back at the agreed time, his ex-wife called the cops," Andy explained. "The cops found him on Palisades drive not too far from one of the trails. It looked like he was beaten up and wrecked his car," he added. "The boy has been missing since then. The father was interviewed by Brentwood division early on and they contacted Missing Persons a day later," Provenza stated.

Sharon looked at the items that Andy had placed and written on the board. "Do we know where the father is located now?" Sharon asked them. "I'll look him up, ma'am," Julio raised his hand and then started typing on his computer. "Also, we need to talk to the ex-wife, and call Robby Oderno. I'd like to speak to him about this case in person," Sharon said as she turned around and looked at her team.

Fifteen minutes later, Julio came back with some information regarding the father. "Okay, so it looks like our Mr. Paxson resides at a house in the Beverly Hills area," Julio stated as he read his computer screen. "Lifestyles of the rich and famous!" Provenza chimed in and Sharon gave him a side glance. "Julio, you and Mike go find our rich and famous guy, and see if he's willing to speak to us," Sharon said as she moved closer to the board.

"Amy, do we know where the ex-wife lives yet?" she asked her. "From what I gathered regarding the latest court records, she resides in West Hollywood," Amy stated and then walked over to the printer and picked up the current photo of the ex-wife. She then placed a nickel in Provenza's jar as he held it out for her.

"Lieutenant, I want you and Amy to find our ex-wife. I think she will be more than willing to talk to us about this," Sharon stated to Provenza. "I think so, Commander. Something tells me she will be," Provenza said as he stood up from his chair and placed his suit jacket back on. Then he and Amy left the Murder Room.

"Robby is on his way up here to talk to us," Andy said to Sharon as he hung up his phone. He was currently sitting at his desk and she walked over to him. "Good," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "This boy looks younger than Matthew in this picture," Sharon said as she handed the picture of the boy to Andy. "I know," he said as she looked at her.

"Commander, Lieutenant," Robby Oderno said as he walked into the Murder Room. Sharon turned around to address him. "I'm glad you could join us on such short notice," she said as she shook his hand. "Well, I'm glad that you guys are looking at this case," Robby said as he nodded to Andy. "What can you tell us about this," she asked him as they all walked into her office. Andy closed the door behind them.

Sharon leaned up against her file cabinet in back of her desk as she listened to Robby explain to her and Andy what he had discovered and why his leads went cold. "I suspected the father at first. He had no recollection of the accident occurring, just stated that when he came to, his son was gone from the car," Robby stated. Andy glanced at Sharon and she met his eyes. "But, I couldn't find anything concrete linking him to his son's disappearance," he added. "What about an Amber Alert? Was there one issued at that time?" Sharon asked. "We didn't have any evidence that showed the kid was kidnapped. Besides, the father couldn't describe anything to us," Robby looked at Sharon.

"What about the ex-wife?" Sharon asked him. "I know she wasn't involved. They were going through a custody battle after their divorce and she won custody of the boy. However, the judge granted visitation rights to the father every other weekend starting back in January of this year," Robby stated. "So, the father plans a weekend trip to go camping with his son, something happens on this trip, he gets beat up, and his son conveniently goes missing," Andy shook his head as he folded his arms across his chest.

"We searched for the boy in the state park, there was no sign of him anywhere. Even the dogs couldn't pick up his scent back then," Robby stated as he looked at Sharon and Andy. "So, it's like he vanished, but how and why?" Sharon stated as she tried working the case through her head.

Robby started to stand up from his seat. "If you can somehow tie the father into this, I know he was involved, I just couldn't prove it," he said and then made his way to the office door. "Thanks Oderno, I'll let you know if we get anything," Andy said and then Robby left. Andy turned around to face Sharon. "So, what do you think?" he asked her. "I'm not sure," she said to him.

Meanwhile, Julio and Mike arrived at the father's house and walked up the walkway to the front door. Julio took a look around the area and Mike pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, a young blond woman answered the door. "Oh, excuse me miss. LAPD, we are looking for a Mr. Colin Paxson, is he here by any chance?" Mike asked her. She smiled at him. "Of course, let me go get him for you," she said and then turned around and left the door open.

Mike and Julio both looked at each other and Mike raised his eyebrow. Colin Paxson then came to the door. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked Mike and Julio. "Mr. Paxson?" Mike asked him. "Yes, what is this about?" he asked again. "It's about your missing son, sir," Julio said. "Did you find him?" he said with a worried look. "Um, no, we have not yet found him. We were wondering if you could answer a few questions about the incident a couple of months ago," Mike stated as he looked behind the father and saw the same woman standing in the hallway. "Preferably downtown at our office," he added.

"Oh, um, yeah. I can do that, ah give me a minute," he said and then turned around and spoke to the young woman. He then grabbed his car keys and walked out the front door. "Oh, you won't be needing those sir, you can ride with us," Julio said as he pointed to the car keys. "We prefer it that way," Mike added. "Sure," Mr. Paxson nodded and went with them to their car.

Just east of them, Provenza and Amy were standing at the front door of the ex-wife's house and Amy rang the doorbell. "Hopefully she's home," she said to him as they waited and then the door unlocked. "Ah, Mrs. Genna Paxson?" Provenza asked her. "Yes," she nodded. "LAPD, ma'am," Amy said. "Oh my god, did you find him? Did you find my son?" she said as she braced herself on the door frame. "Um, no, we haven't found your little boy yet. We were wondering if it was possible for you to answer some questions we have regarding the missing of your boy, Hudson," Provenza calmly told her.

"Sure, come on in, please," she said as they walked inside her house. "Please, have a seat, would you like something to drink?" she asked as they took a seat on the chairs in the living room. "Um, no, we're fine, thank you," Provenza answered her and she sat down across from them. "What would you like to know?" she asked them.

"Well, we'd like to know the custody arraignment you had with your ex-husband regarding Hudson," Amy asked her. "I had won full custody of Hudson, because Colin was unfit to be his father. But, back in January, the judge had granted him custody every other weekend, he had to check in with a social worker and eventually, he was on his own with my son," she said in a bitter tone.

"And what happened when Hudson went missing?" Provenza asked her. "Colin had taken him camping. It was all Hudson would talk about weeks leading up to the trip," she started to talk as her hands shook a little. "He was excited to go, but I was hesitant to let him," she continued as she wiped a tear from her eye. Provenza quickly glanced at Amy and then offered the ex-wife his handkerchief. She took it and wiped her eyes with it.

"When Colin didn't show up Sunday with Hudson, I started to panic and I called the police. I had told them where they had gone to and they informed me that they would send someone in the area to look for his car. They had found Colin, in his car, wrecked not too far from the state park, he was beat up but there was no sign of Hudson," she continued to tell them.

"I called missing persons a day later and spoke to a Detective Oderno on the phone. He assured me that he would look into his disappearance. I knew they were searching for him because he kept me up to date on the progress, but about two weeks ago, Detective Oderno spoke to me over the phone and said that he had ran out of leads on the case," she said as she wiped her tears.

"That's why when I saw you two standing there, I thought you were going to tell me that you found my boy," she cried. Provenza placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered to her and let her cry. "Detective Oderno gave us this case, and we are going to look into it, and I promise you, we will find your little boy," Provenza said to her a few minutes later and then he and Amy left the house.

As they walked back to their car, Amy turned to Provenza. "So, do you think she's somehow involved?" she asked him as she opened the driver's side door. "If she is, she's a great actress," Provenza answered as he got in the passenger side. They drove back to the PAB.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 2

Julio and Mike walked back into the Murder Room and Sharon and Andy walked out of her office to join them. "The ex-husband is in Interview Room 1, patrol is watching him right now," Mike said to them. "Good, I want to wait until we hear from Lieutenant Provenza and Detective Sykes before interviewing him," Sharon informed all of them.

"When we arrived at his house, apparently he has already moved on from the bereavement period, ma'am," Julio informed Sharon. "What does that mean?" she asked him. "Oh, well, uh," Julio stammered and Andy stepped in. "I think what it means is that he has a pretty, young girlfriend now, is that what you meant by that?" Andy suggested as he tried explaining to Sharon. Sharon gave him a 'how do you know' look and Andy just shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, Lieutenant, that's exactly what I was trying to say," Julio added and then he went to sit down at his desk. Amy and Provenza walked back into the Murder Room and sat down at their desks. "So, is the ex-husband here?" he asked Julio and Mike. "Yes, he's in Interview Room 1 with patrol," Mike said. "Ah, great!" Provenza said as he watched Sharon walk over to his desk.

"Yes, Lieutenant, I would like you and Andy to interview him. But first, what happened with the ex-wife?" Sharon asked him. "Ah, well Commander, she's still heartbroken over her missing son," Provenza explained as leaned back in his chair. "Do you think she's involved somehow in the disappearance?" Andy asked him. "No, definitely not," he said to Andy and then turned to Sharon. "I'm pretty good at reading people Commander, and she's not involved in the disappearance of her son," he shook his head.

"Right, always the ex-husband," Sharon said to him. "See, you've finally caught on with me!" Provenza exclaimed but then realized he sounded too cheery for the current situation so he toned it down. "I want to know exactly what happened that weekend he went camping with his son," she told them. Provenza and Andy both nodded and watched her walk towards Electronics.

A few minutes later, Andy and Provenza opened the door to the interview room and informed patrol to wait outside the room. Patrol did and closed the door behind them. "Mr. Colin Paxson, this is Lieutenant Flynn, I'm Lieutenant Provenza," Provenza sat down on the left chair facing him and Andy took the right chair. "Are you re-opening my missing son's case?" Mr. Paxson asked them, in a concerned voice.

"Hmm, all of a sudden he sounds a little concerned by that?" Mike said to the rest of the them in Electronics as they watched the interview. Sharon smiled at that comment but then focused right back to Andy and Provenza.

"We just discovered a new lead in the disappearance of your son, Mr. Paxson and we were wondering if you might be able to help us," Andy informed him. "Oh, please, call me Colin," he said as he sat there. "Alright, Colin, we'd like to know exactly what occurred when you went camping with your son back in March of this year," Provenza asked him. Mr. Paxson looked at both of them. "Um, do I need a lawyer?" he asked. Provenza glanced at Andy and Andy rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, Colin, do you?" Andy insinuated. "Uh, no," he paused for a second and then began to tell them what happened. "I picked Hudson up at his mother's house, my ex-wife, and he was all ready with his camping gear and bag. We got in the car, my ex-wife reminded me the time he needed to be back on Sunday, and we left for the state park," he explained. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but what day did you leave?" Provenza asked him. "Oh, a Friday," he answered and then continued.

"We got to the park and I registered with the park ranger at the front desk. I had reserved a camp site in advance and needed to pick up the permit," he stated and Provenza was writing notes as he went along. "We set up our camp early that afternoon, and then we went hiking on one of the trails there, I think it was called Eagle Rock, then we came back down to the camp a couple of hours later, ate dinner and then went to sit at the group fire pit where they were having s'mores for everyone," he stated.

"Group fire pit?" Andy asked him as he held his hand up. "Yes, they have that at the park, kind of like a gathering place for campers to enjoy," he explained.

Sharon turned around and looked at Amy. "I'm on it," she said and then left the room. "If they were at a group fire pit, maybe there was someone else there that took an interest to the missing kid?" Julio stated. "Perhaps, or there's a possible witness," Sharon concluded and then continued to watch the interview.

"How many people were there with you and your son?" Provenza asked him. "Oh, um maybe six or seven other people," he answered. "Were there other kids there as well?" Andy asked and Mr. Paxson started to shift in his chair. "Uh, I don't know," he answered.

Sharon could tell Andy was getting a little impatient with this guy. "Alright, what else did you and your son do there?" Provenza asked him. Mr. Paxson looked at Andy as he stared at him and then looked at Provenza. "We slept in our tent and the next morning, after we ate breakfast, we went for a bike ride on one of the easier trails. Hudson had a lot of fun on that bike," he explained as he looked down at the table.

"You brought your own bikes with you?" Andy asked him. "No, I rented the bikes there at the bike shop," he answered. Sharon turned around and looked at Julio. "I'll verify that, ma'am," Julio said and walked out of the room. "Did Robby Oderno verify any of this?" Sharon asked Mike. "I'll find out," Mike said and then proceeded to pull out his cell phone and walked out the back door.

Mike stood in the hallway as he spoke to Robby over the phone. "What? He never mentioned that to me or anybody else!" Robby said on the other end. "Well, that's what he's telling Provenza and Flynn right now," Mike said.

A few minutes later, Mike walked back into Electronics and informed Sharon what Robby had said to him. "According to Oderno, this guy is changing his story," he said. "Good to know," she said as she thought about something. "Buzz, inform the Lieutenants that we are done with the interview but not to let him go yet," Sharon said and then walked out of the room.

Buzz informed Provenza through the earpiece and he acknowledged. "Uh, hang tight here, Mr. Paxson, someone will be back with you shortly," Provenza said as he stood up from his chair. Andy gave Provenza a look but did the same and followed him out of the room. "Mind telling me what's going on?" he asked him as they stood in the hallway. "The Commander wants us to stop interviewing him for now," Provenza said as he started to walk back to the office.

Andy and Provenza made their way back into the Murder Room and they went straight to Sharon's office. "So what's going on?" Andy asked her as she hung up her phone. "Mr. Paxson never informed Detective Oderno about renting bikes there or the group camp fire when he interviewed him," Sharon stated as she paged through the old report. Andy folded his arms against his chest and took a deep breath. "So, he's either lying about that or he forgot in his state of grief to inform Oderno," Andy muttered.

"I'm not sure which one right now, which is why we needed to stop the interview. I want him to sit there for a couple of minutes and then I want patrol to drive him back home. We need to verify some things before we can make our move," Sharon said as she looked directly at Andy. She could tell he was not too happy with her decision. Provenza nodded and then left her office. Andy stayed back and watched Sharon sit down.

"Really Sharon?" Andy started as he moved toward her desk. "You want to let this guy walk while we verify his story? We can arrest him right now for obstruction and hold him for 48 hours while we verify his story!" he stated in a louder voice than normal. "I don't want to arrest him for obstruction, Andy. I want to arrest him for murder," she explained to him in a tone he knew all too well.

They both stared at each other until Andy looked away at her office windows and the buildings that were outside. "What if he skips town?" he asked her as he continued to look out her window. "He's not going to," she simply stated. He laughed at that response. "Andy, listen to me. I want to find this little boy first, whether we find his body alive or dead, we owe it to Hudson to find him," she said and he knew she was right.

He thought about what Colin Paxson had said in the interview. Whether he knew it or not, he had given them clues through his re-telling of the story. "He's at that park, Sharon," Andy stated, barely above a whisper. "I know, and we need to find him," she said as she looked at him.

"This isn't going to end well," he leaned up against her desk. They both knew that it was most likely they would find the little boy dead. That was just how some of these cases ended up. That was one of the reasons why Andy hated missing persons cases, especially ones with ex-husbands and ex-wives in the middle of custody battles.

They walked out of Sharon's office when Julio got everyone's attention. "Okay, I verified with the park and the bike rental place there. They looked up their information from back in March and found a receipt for Mr. Paxson's bike rentals. He paid with his credit card, ma'am," Julio stated as he wrote that information on the board.

"Did the bike rental place remember him returning the bikes when they were done?" Sharon asked. "They said that they saw him and the kid at the beginning of their rental and then only he returned the two bikes. They didn't ask any questions," Julio stated as he turned around to face the team.

Sharon turned to Amy who was still on the phone with the park rangers. "Thank you," she said and hung up her phone. "I spoke with the park ranger there, and he looked up the camp reservations for that weekend in March. They do list Colin Paxson and his son on the reservation, but there weren't seven people at that campground," Amy stated. Sharon glanced at Andy who started to pace.

"How many were there?" Mike asked. "Colin, his son, and another couple from Burbank," she stated. "So there were only four of them at this group fire pit then?" Provenza asked. "Well, the group fire pit wasn't open that evening, according to the park ranger, due to the high fire danger that day," Amy explained. "Oh, well this guy's story is falling apart at the seams, Commander!" Provenza chuckled.

"Yes, it certainly seems so, Lieutenant," Sharon said as Andy stopped pacing. "I want us to conduct a search of the park. We will need something of Hudson's so that the dogs can pick up his scent," Sharon asked the team. "We can stop by the ex-wife's house and ask her for something of his," Provenza suggested. "Hmm, I don't know if I'd want to do that, Lieutenant," Sharon said. "Well, then how would we get something that has the kid's scent on it if we don't ask the mom?" Provenza asked her.

Sharon thought about that for a minute. "Missing persons should have a box with whatever evidence they collected on this case," Amy suggested. "We could see if there's anything of Hudson's belongings there," she added as she looked at everyone. "That's a good idea, Sykes," Andy said and Sharon agreed. "I'll coordinate with the K-9 teams and SID, Commander," Mike said and then picked up his phone.

"It's going to be hard to pick up the scent of the boy, with the rain that we had earlier," Mike said as he glanced at Sharon. "Not if his body is still there," she gravely said and then turned her focus to the Murder Board. Mike then spoke to SID and the K-9 teams over the phone.

"Ah, Commander, I thought that Robby said they already ran dogs at that park when the kid was reported missing?" Provenza asked as he leaned back in his chair. "They did, but perhaps they searched in the wrong area of the park," Sharon suggested as she looked at the map of the park that was now up on the Murder Board. Andy watched her stand there.

"What about Mr. Paxson, ma'am?" Julio asked Sharon as she stared at his picture on their board. "Let him go and have patrol take him home. But, thank him for his cooperation ," she said and Andy shook his head. "He's going to run," he mumbled. "We'll have SIS tail him and keep a close eye on his movements," Sharon offered and Andy nodded in agreement.

By the time everything was coordinated with K9 and SID, it was a little after noon. The teams had arrived at the entrance to the state park. Sharon and Andy exited their vehicle and joined everyone there. "I'd like a team to concentrate on the area of the campground that our subject stayed at," Sharon said to the officers. "I'd also like a team to search the trails in the area as well. Our subject stated that he took his son on the Eagle Rock trail and also the bike trail," she added. She then heard a bunch of 'sure Commander's' from the officers and then they got back in their cars and drove out to the area of question.

They had arrived at the campground minutes later. They saw many campers hanging out but they didn't ask questions. The campers kept to themselves. One saw a park ranger and walked over to them and asked them what was going on. Provenza stepped out of the vehicle and placed his white bucket hat on and walked over to the group of K-9 handlers.

He then handed the item that they had got out of the evidence box. The shirt that Provenza handed over to the dog handlers had belonged to Hudson. The dogs then spread out into the campground and the trails as Sharon wanted them to do. She watched as Andy, Provenza, and Mike also headed out with the teams. She stayed back at the campground with the Lieutenant from the K-9 team and coordinated the search.

About an hour into the search on the bike trail, one of the dogs started barking at a tree. Andy looked over at the handler and he was signaling that something might possibly be in that area. Andy radioed Sharon and the rest of the team. "Hey guys, we might have something on the bike trail," he said over the radio. Sharon's heart stammered as she heard him speak those words on her radio. Buzz ran over from where he was taping to the area where Andy was located.

Andy walked over to join the dog handler and signaled for some officers and SID to join him. "There's something here, Lieutenant," the dog handler told him and he acknowledged. "Let's dig in this area," he said as he pointed to the ground by the tree. SID officers and patrol officers pulled out their collapsible shovels and started to dig. Buzz took video of the dig.

After about twenty minutes, Andy heard his name being called. "Lieutenant Flynn," one of the officers waved him over. Andy walked over to where the officer was kneeling and he bent over. "Dammit," he muttered as he saw the body of the dead kid, laying there in the hole in the ground. He looked away for a brief second and sighed.

He then pulled out a photo of Hudson and compared it to the body before him. It was Hudson who had been found. He pulled up his radio and informed the rest of the team, including Sharon. "It's him, we found the body," was all they heard. Andy leaned a hand on the tree and watched the officers as they continued to dig. "Buzz, take a brief video of the scene but that's it," Andy had told him and Buzz nodded.

Sharon had found Andy leaned up against the tree as he watched the SID officers. She walked up to join him and placed a hand on his arm. He looked over at her as she watched them exhume the child's body. "You don't want to see that Sharon," he warned her as he gently squeezed her hand in his. She took one glimpse of the body and closed her eyes. Her heart broke each time a child was involved in their cases.

There appeared to be stab wounds on the front of his chest, even though the blood was dried and the body was starting to decay. They would wait for Kendall to show up to confirm, but that was a good guess. Sharon pulled her radio out and called Provenza over it. "Go ahead, Commander," she heard over their radios. "Get a search warrant for Mr. Paxson's house, we are looking for a possible weapon such as a hunting knife," she said.

"10-4!" Provenza said over the radio. "And also, if you do find the knife and it has evidence of blood on it, arrest the bastard," Sharon said and then looked at Andy. He was surprised by her language over the radio but it was warranted. "Copy that," Provenza stated. "Detective Sanchez, I want you to stay here and coordinate the recovery," she called out to Julio on the radio. "10-4," Julio answered a little disappointed in his assignment.

She needed to keep her hot-headed detectives away from Mr. Paxson as long as she could. She then turned to Andy. "Will you come with me to notify Genna Paxson, Andy?" Sharon asked as her voice cracked. She looked at Andy and could tell the anger was building up inside him. "Yeah," he said and then they walked back to their car.

These notifications were never easy, but he knew that Sharon would want to tell the mother face to face, like she always did. He would be there for support if she needed him. He hoped that Provenza and them would find the knife, and arrest the dirt bag, so that he could give him a piece of his mind. That is if Sharon would let him.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Sorry about the previous chapter being sad for some of you. It's hard to deal with these types of cases and we wish they all had a happy ending, but unfortunately, some do not. I'm just trying to keep it as much as real as possible. Thanks for understanding and as always, thanks for the wonderful reviews.

Chapter 3

Kendall arrived at the scene and looked over the body of a child. "Judging by the decomp on the body, I'd say he's been buried since early March," Kendall spoke to Julio who was standing over him, watching him move the bones. "How was he killed?" Julio asked. Kendall moved around and looked at the front of the body. "Well, there looks to be stab wounds by something sharp edged," Kendall concluded. "Like a hunting knife?" Julio asked. "Possibly," Kendall said and then had his technicians move the body into a body bag.

"I'll meet you at the morgue, Detective," Kendall called out to Julio and then walked with the body back to the Coroner's van. Julio stared and watched the body disappear and then headed over to his vehicle with Buzz. He then drove them over to the morgue to wait for Dr. Morales.

Meanwhile, Sharon and Andy arrived at the home of Genna Paxson and they walked up to the front door of the house. Andy briefly glanced at Sharon and wondered what she was thinking at that moment. She rang the doorbell and a minute later, the door opened. "Mrs. Genna Paxson?" Sharon asked the woman. "Yes," she nodded as she shifted in her stance. Sharon paused a moment, but Andy stepped in and started to speak to the woman.

"I'm Lieutenant Flynn, this is Commander Flynn, we're with the LAPD, ma'am," he said. "Wow! Twice in one day I get a visit from you guys," Genna joked but then read the faces of Sharon and Andy and knew immediately why they were here. "You found him, didn't you," she said and Sharon nodded. Genna looked beyond Sharon and Andy for a moment and saw some patrol officers behind them near the street.

"May we come in, please?" Andy asked her and she backed away from the front door and led them to the living room. "Please, just tell me," she pleaded with them. "The LAPD and I regret to inform you that we found the body of what appears to be your son, Hudson," Andy informed her and then helped Genna sit down on the nearest chair. "No, no, no," she whispered and tears started to fall.

Sharon sat down next to her and held her hand. "What happened? Where did you find my boy?" she said in between the cries and sobs. "At Topanga State Park," Sharon said and Genna's eyes went wide. "Colin did this to him, that bastard did this to him!" she screamed. "Mrs. Paxson, calm down!" Andy stated and then Sharon pulled her into herself and held her as she cried.

"Mrs. Paxson, I promise you that I will bring the person who did this to justice," Sharon whispered to her and she nodded as she wiped the tears away from her face. "Can I see him?" Genna asked Sharon as she moved away from her on the couch. "Yes, but he's at the morgue right now and they need to confirm cause of death before you can see him," Sharon informed her and Genna nodded.

"These patrol officers are going to stay with you and they will bring you down to the morgue when the coroner is ready," Sharon said to her as she pointed to the officers that were standing at the door now. "Thank you," she said and then turned to Sharon. "Are you a mother?" she asked her. "Yes, I am," Sharon cleared her throat.

Genna just stared at all the pictures of her boy on the wall. Andy looked at Sharon who was watching her. "Cherish them," Genna said and Sharon nodded to her. She then turned around and Andy led Sharon out of the house. The two patrol officers then stepped inside and waited.

Sharon let out a deep breath by the time they had got to their car. Andy opened the door for her and she stepped in and situated herself in the passenger seat. Andy then went around to the driver's side and slid in himself and closed the door. A mix of emotions ran through him as he started the car. "Now we just need to tie Colin to the murder of his son," Sharon said with disgust as Andy sat there, and looked out the window.

He then glanced over at her and saw the emotion clear as day on her face. "Sharon?" he whispered and grabbed her left hand. "I know we've been through these types of cases before, but, what would possess someone to do that to their own child?" she said, barely above a whisper. Andy sighed as he let go of her hand to shift the car into drive. He then pulled onto the street and re-grabbed her hand in his. As he drove back to the PAB, he hoped they had found the knife and linked it to Colin so that they could close this case.

In Beverly Hills, Provenza, Amy, and Mike showed up with some patrol officers. Provenza made his way over to the SIS officers who were watching Colin, per Sharon's orders. They all made their way to the front of Colin's house. Provenza nodded to Mike and he rang the doorbell and also knocked on the door. "LAPD, Mr. Paxson, open up!" Provenza yelled out.

The door opened and a young woman stood there in front of them. "I'm sorry, but what is this about?" she asked Provenza. "We are looking for Mr. Colin Paxson, ma'am," Provenza informed her and Mike stood there next to him. Mike recognized her from this morning. "I don't know where he is officers," she said to them.

Mike and Provenza both looked at each other. "I thought SIS followed him home?" Provenza turned and asked Mike. Mike glanced over to the officers who were behind them and waved them over to where they were standing. "We followed him here, Lieutenant," one of the SIS officers said to Mike. Mike turned and nodded to Provenza.

"Now listen here, miss, we have a search warrant for this house. Do you reside here with Mr. Paxson?" Provenza asked her nicely. "Yes, I live here with him," she answered and smiled at his charm. "Good, good, then you won't mind us executing this search warrant," he said to her and then handed her the piece of paper and Mike walked into the house with the other officers. Amy went around the back with two SIS officers to search.

"Now, I need you to tell me the truth, where is Colin?" Provenza asked her as they stood there while the house was being searched. "I don't know where he is!" she stated.

Provenza looked at the ceiling of the room and sighed. He then called the sergeant who was leading the detail for SIS over to where he was in the house. "Are you sure this guy is here?" he asked him. "Yes, Lieutenant, we had this house covered, he's here," he said in a voice quiet enough so only Provenza heard.

Just then, they heard a noise coming from downstairs. "What was that?" Provenza asked the girlfriend. "I don't know," she said as she shrugged her shoulders. Provenza was losing his patience with the girlfriend and had another officer watch her while he joined in the search. Mike was standing in the kitchen when he heard that same noise and saw Provenza walking toward him. "It sounded like it was coming from the basement," Mike pointed to the door.

Mike and an officer headed down the steps while Provenza stayed at the top of the stairs. The lights were turned on and Mike searched the basement. He saw that something knocked over a statue down there and when he turned the corner, he saw the culprit. An orange cat was looking right at him and then came up to Mike and rubbed his body on Mike's leg. Mike sighed and then walked over to the stairs. "It's clear down here, just a cat that knocked over a statue," he informed Provenza. Provenza shook his head. "Alright, come up here so we can get this search warrant for the object in question finished," Provenza called down to him.

"You have a cat?" Provenza asked the girlfriend as she was sitting in the living room. "Yes, his name is Tabby," she said to him. They had searched the rest of the house, but there was no sign of Colin anywhere inside. Amy searched the garage but there was only one car inside and that was empty. Mike walked up to Provenza who was now standing in the living room. "Do you want me to call the Commander or do you want to?" Mike asked him. "I'll do it," Provenza huffed as he pulled out his phone.

Sharon answered her phone as Andy was still driving. "Yes, Lieutenant," she said over the phone. "Um, bad news Commander, Colin is not at his house," Provenza stated. "What? Where is he at then?" she said and Andy knew exactly what that conversation was. "The girlfriend is here but she claims that she doesn't know where he is," Provenza informed her. "Did SIS follow him home?" she asked. "Yes, and the sergeant assured me that he was here, however, we have searched the whole house and there is no sign of him anywhere," Provenza scratched his head.

Sharon wanted to yell on the phone but she retrained herself from doing so. After all, it wasn't Provenza's fault. Andy had pulled the car over while Sharon spoke on the phone. He did so in case they needed to either join the team at Colin's house or go somewhere else. Judging by the look on Sharon's face, he knew she was not happy with whatever Provenza was telling her.

Sharon hung up her phone and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We need to head over to Colin's house in Beverly Hills, apparently he is not there, but his girlfriend is, and I want to talk to her," she said and Andy nodded. He had warned her that Colin would run and it looks like he did just that, however, now was not the time or place to say 'I told you so'. He pulled out of the area where he parked and drove over to the direction of Beverly Hills.

Sharon's phone rang again but this time it was Julio who was calling her. "Yes, Detective Sanchez," she said as she answered her phone. "Dr. Morales just finished the autopsy, ma'am and the boy was stabbed in his chest," he said. "Was that the cause of death?" she asked quietly. "Yes," Julio said. "Thank you Detective," she said and then hung up her phone.

Andy glanced over at Sharon who was now staring out the window. "Was that Julio?" he asked her as he drove down Santa Monica Boulevard. "Yes," she said quietly and shook her head. "He stabbed that little boy, Andy," she added. Andy couldn't believe that sick bastard would do that to his own kid. This made Andy's blood boil even more.

He then turned down the street that Colin's house was located on and joined the rest of the police cars there. "I'm going to speak to the girlfriend, I need you to find me that hunting knife," she told Andy before they got out of the car. "Sure," Andy nodded and stepped out of the vehicle. He went around the other side and met Sharon and they walked towards the house together.

"Ah, Commander, good you are here. Mike and Amy are searching for the hunting knife. Do we have confirmation that was the murder weapon?" Provenza said as they joined him at the front of the house. "Yes, Lieutenant," she said to Provenza and then nodded to Andy. Andy had a mission as he walked into the house while Sharon and Provenza stayed outside.

"I want to speak to the girlfriend. I think I can get her to cooperate if I can just get through to her, woman to woman," Sharon stated to Provenza outside the house. "If you think so, Commander," he said as he led the way inside the house and showed Sharon where the girlfriend was sitting. "Hello, Tanya, my name is Commander Sharon Flynn, I'm with the Major Crimes team in the LAPD," Sharon informed the girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Andy met up with Mike in the garage of the house. He was going through all of the items that were located in the garage when he saw Andy step inside. "Find anything yet?" Andy asked Mike as he saw Mike going through some boxes. "Not yet," Mike said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Andy put some gloves on and then took a box and started going through it. "If I were a hunting knife, where would I be," he muttered to himself as he cleared out another box. Andy then looked up at one of the shelves in the garage.

He saw a box with something green sticking out of it. "Hey, Mike. Look over here," Andy said as he pointed his flashlight to the box in question. "Does that look like camping gear to you?" Andy asked him. "Sure does," Mike said as he looked around for a ladder and found one. He climbed the ladder to the shelf with the box in question and then handed the box to Andy. Andy placed it down on the garage floor and started going through it.

Andy handed Mike a small bag from the box and Mike unraveled it. "Bingo!" Mike said as he pulled out the hunting knife and handed it to Andy. "Let me get something out of my bag," he told Andy as he went to his small bag and pulled out some Luminol spray. He then took the knife from Andy and sprayed it. Andy held up the black light that Mike had and the knife started to glow, indicating the presence of blood.

"I'm going to dust it for fingerprints as well, see if I can pull up a match to Colin," Mike stated as he wrapped the knife and placed it in an evidence bag. "There's blood on this sleeping bag as well," Mike stated and showed Andy. "Okay, we'll call SID here as well and have them go over everything," Andy stated and then moved back into the kitchen.

Back in the living room, Sharon was speaking to the girlfriend, Tanya. "Tanya, how long have you been with Colin?" Sharon asked her. "A year," she stated. "And in that time, have you ever known Colin to do something extreme?" she asked. "No, no he's not like that," Tanya stated. "Did you ever meet Hudson?" Sharon asked her. "Colin would bring him over and we would do things whenever it was his time to have him. He got really upset when Hudson disappeared, started blaming himself for it and everything," Tanya stated.

"Did Colin get along with his ex-wife?" Sharon asked her as she glanced over and saw Andy holding up the knife in the evidence bag. She nodded to him and then turned back to Tanya. "Um, no they did not get along," Tanya answered. "Tanya, I'm going to explain to you the kind of person Colin is," Sharon said in a lower voice so that only the two of them could hear her.

Provenza walked over to where Andy was standing in the kitchen. "Okay, we found the murder weapon, now all we need to find is the murderer!" Provenza stated to him. "Yeah, this sick bastard better pray I'm not the one to find him," Andy muttered to Provenza.

All of a sudden they heard a scream from the living room. "No! That can't be true! Colin wouldn't do that to his own son!" Tanya screamed. Sharon was trying to get her to calm down as Andy and Provenza walked over there. "It's true, Tanya. This is what Colin did to his little boy," Sharon said as she showed Tanya a picture. Tanya was speechless. "We need you to help us find where Colin went to," Sharon said and she knew that she was getting through to her.

"What do you need me to do?" Tanya asked. "We need to know where Colin is," Sharon stated and then glanced at Andy and Provenza. "I, I can call his cell phone," Tanya stated and she pulled out her cell phone. "Don't mention anything about us being here, just ask him where he is located," Sharon said and Tanya nodded as she pressed his name on her phone.

"Hello?" Colin said on the other end of the phone. "Hey, it's me," Tanya said to him. "Is everything okay?" he asked her. "Yes," Tanya stated. "When are you coming home?" she added. Sharon hoped he would tell her. "In a few hours, sweetie. I'm with Beverly right now," Colin said to her. 'B-E-V-E-R-L-Y?' Sharon mouthed to Andy and he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, right, okay, I'll have dinner ready for you when you get back home," Tanya said and then hung up her phone.

"He's at his boat. That's what he named his boat," Tanya said to Sharon. Sharon nodded to Provenza and he pulled out his phone. "Where's his boat located?" Sharon asked her. "Marina Del Rey, slip 22" Tanya stated. "Thank you," Sharon said to her as she stood up from her seat. Tanya was still in shock as she couldn't believe Colin would harm his little boy like that.

Sharon walked over to join her Lieutenants in the kitchen. Provenza hung up his phone. "Commander, I just got the okay for a search warrant for this guy's boat," he informed her. "Good," she said as she glanced at her watch. It was almost 5 o'clock. "Do you want me to bring this down to the lab and get it tested and everything?" Mike asked Sharon as they all stood there. "Yes, Mike thank you," she said to Mike. He grabbed the evidence bags and left the area. They had also discovered a bloody sleeping bag in the box with the knife.

Sharon gestured for the rest of the team to leave the house and they met up at the front. "I say we go to Mr. Paxon's boat and pay him a visit," Provenza stated to the others. "Sergeant, we will be having a word later," Sharon said to the SIS officer. "Yes ma'am," he replied. "Let's go," Sharon said and then they got in their vehicles and drove to Marina Del Rey.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 4

It was now getting closer to 5 o'clock. Sharon called Nicole on the phone and asked her if she could pick up Matthew at school and then bring him home with her. "This case we caught is running late and I want to make sure he's okay," she said over the phone. "No problem Sharon, Do you need me to pick up Moxie as well?" Nicole asked. Sharon looked at Andy and then answered yes. "Okay, just call later and let me know what is going on," Nicole stated. "We will, thank you," Sharon said and then hung up her phone.

Sharon kept looking at Andy as he drove them to the marina. She knew this case was upsetting to him. It was upsetting in general. "Promise me Andy," she said to him and then he quickly glanced at her. He knew that look she was giving him. "He deserves a good beat down, anyone who does that to their kid," Andy replied and shook his head. She reached out for his right hand and squeezed it gently. She had to make sure that everyone would be safe in the take down of Colin, and that included Colin himself.

Sharon squeezed his hand again. "I know, but I don't need you being investigated for police brutality because you decided to take matters into your own hands," Sharon stated. Andy knew she was right with that and so he made her a promise. "Fine, I promise I won't lay a hand on him, unless he does something stupid," Andy mumbled.

The caravan of cars arrived at their destination and pulled up into the gated area. "I want a car posted here by the gate," Sharon said over the radio. "10-4," a patrol officer called out. The rest of the cars drove through and parked closer to the boat slips. Sharon and Andy got out along with Amy and Provenza. They already had their vests on. They met up with the SIS officers that were at the house with them and they decided on a game plan before heading over to slip 22.

"Use any force necessary and reasonable. Our emotions are running high from this case," Sharon said to all of them. Andy was thinking about how much he wanted to beat this guy when they caught him. He looked up and saw Sharon staring at him. They all acknowledged her orders and then made their way down the boat slips. Andy arrived at slip 22 first and then slowly approached the boat marked 'Beverly' as he drew his gun. Sharon was right with him, followed by Provenza and Amy.

Andy looked behind him to see if everyone was ready and they proceeded forward to the boat. Andy saw movement on the boat and he held up his hand to alert the others. His heart was pounding in his ear as he made his way forward. "Colin Paxson!" he called out as he stepped on to the boat. Amy and Sharon followed him on the boat while Provenza stayed on the dock.

Andy went around to the back of the boat where there were stairs heading down inside the boat. He stepped down one stair and immediately saw Colin inside. "LAPD! Put your hands were I can see them!" Andy yelled out and alerted everyone there. Amy came around the backside and was right behind Andy as he went down the stairs. "Lieutenant, what is this about?" he asked. "Get against that wall over there!" Andy instructed him as Colin held his hands up. Colin started to walk towards the back wall inside the boat and Andy followed him.

Colin placed his hands up against the wall and waited for Andy to get closer to him. Andy quickly glanced at Amy and saw she was covering him. Andy then holstered his weapon and placed his hands on Colin to pat him down. Sharon then came down the stairs of the boat. When Andy placed his right hand on Colin's back, Colin immediately turned around and went to punch Andy but Andy quickly pushed him into the wall. "I don't think so, pal!," Andy yelled as he threw all of his body weight against Colin.

Amy went to Andy's side and grabbed a hold of Colin's right hand. Andy turned Colin around so that his face was plastered into the wall. "We got some questions for you Colin. You lied to us this morning!" Andy gritted his teeth as he spoke to him. Andy then pulled out his handcuffs and cuffed Colin behind his back. Amy held him as Andy checked him to make sure he didn't have any other weapons on him. "He's good," Andy said to Amy and then she walked him outside the boat.

Andy turned around and saw Sharon standing there. Andy walked over to her. "I kept my promise," he stated as he continued up the stairs to follow them outside the boat. Sharon sighed and nodded. She then joined them outside. She saw Amy and Provenza walking Colin down the boat dock. But Andy was waiting for her at the entrance to the boat.

He held out his hand for her to take as she got off the boat. "Thank you," she told him as she stepped on to the dock. She looked at him and could see the conflict on his face. They walked down the dock and eventually made it to their car. Sharon saw that Colin was already sitting in the backseat of a squad car. "Are we ready Commander?" Provenza asked her as she walked by them. "Yes, see you back at the office," she said and then joined Andy who was standing by their car.

Sharon got inside the car and her phone immediately rang. She saw it was Nicole calling her. Andy slipped into the driver's seat just as she answered the phone. "Hi Nicole, is everything okay?" she said as she moved her hair out of her eyes. Andy started the car and drove them. "Yes, Matthew just wanted to say hi," she said and Andy heard as well. "Oh okay," Sharon waited for Matthew to be on the phone. She decided to place her phone on speaker so that both of them could hear him.

"Hi Mommy," she heard Matthew say. "Hello sweetie, are you doing okay there?" she asked him. "Yep, Avery got a new bike so he was showing it to me," Matthew sounded excited by that. "Well, that's good. Sorry we have to work a little later than usual," she told him as she glanced at Andy and wondered why he didn't say anything yet. "Is Daddy there with you?" Matthew asked. "Yeah buddy, I'm here," Andy said. "Okay, be careful," Matthew told them and then Nicole got back on the phone.

Sharon had told her that they didn't know how late they would be but they would call her later to let them know. Andy pulled into the parking garage at the PAB and parked the car. "Are you ready to interview this bastard?" Andy asked her as he paused for a moment before they left the car. "Yes, I would like someone to call Hobbs and notify her of everything that has happened so far," she said as she stepped out of the car and joined Andy.

They walked to the elevator and waited until the doors opened and then stepped inside. Andy hit the button for the ninth floor and the elevator started. "Thank you for controlling yourself when we caught him," she said to him and then he turned to look at her. She saw the sorrow in his eyes as he looked at her. She had seen that many times before on a variety of cases they had dealt with together and before when she was in charge of FID.

"It wasn't easy," he mumbled as the elevator opened on the ninth floor. He started to step away but Sharon grabbed his hand and pulled on it. He stopped walking and looked at her. They both stood there in silence. Sharon was about to say something when Mike stepped out of another elevator. "Ah, Commander," he said as he looked between Sharon and Andy. He figured he interrupted something by the looks on both of their faces.

"Yes Mike?" Sharon stated as she turned to look at him. "Lab results came back on the knife. Definitely human blood on it. There was some dried blood that remained at the tip of the handle, they were able to match it to Hudson Paxson," Mike stated. Sharon nodded and then Mike left them and headed to the office.

Andy still stood there; ready for whatever Sharon was going to say to him before they were interrupted by Mike. Sharon walked up to Andy and placed her hand on his arm. "Ready?" she whispered to him. He thought she was going to scold him from his earlier comment as that what it had looked like she was getting ready to do. She caught him off guard with that question. "Yeah," he answered quickly before she had a chance to change her mind.

They entered the office and Andy held the door open for Sharon. As they both walked in, they saw Provenza already there. "Ah, you guys are back. Mr. Paxson is in Interview Room 1 again, I thought he would enjoy being in that room twice in one day," Provenza stated as he took his suit jacket off and placed it on the back of his chair.

"Andy and I will conduct the interview. I want you to contact Hobbs and inform her of what has transpired," Sharon informed Provenza. "Sure, oh, and Commander, I did not tell our guest that we found Hudson at the state park," Provenza noted to Sharon and then briefly glanced at Andy before heading to Electronics.

Buzz came back from the morgue in time to see Provenza fooling around with the computer monitors. "Can I help you, sir?" Buzz asked him. "Where have you been?" Provenza said as he turned around to look at him. "I was with Julio down at the morgue," Buzz replied as he fixed each monitor that Provenza had touched. "Did Julio come back with you?" Provenza asked him as he sat down. "No, he was going to wait for the mother of the boy," Buzz answered and then turned on the monitors.

They saw Sharon and Andy walk into the room and closed the door behind them. "Hello Mr. Paxson, I'm Commander Flynn, and I believe you know Lieutenant Flynn," Sharon started to say as she took a seat. "You lied to us, Colin!" Andy said to him again as he sat down. "Before you answer that Mr. Paxson, I need to know that you have been read your rights, is that correct?" she asked him as she placed the file folder in front of her on the table. "Yes, I'm waiving my rights" Colin muttered back.

Sharon looked through the folder for something. "Look, why am I here again? Why did you pull me off my boat? Did you find my son, is that why I'm here?" Colin asked them. "Oh, you could say yes to both of your questions, Colin," Andy said as he gritted through his teeth. "Mr. Paxson, we did locate your son this afternoon, at the park where you left him," Sharon said and then placed a picture of the boy on the table. "What?" Colin exclaimed and sat back in his seat as he stared at the picture.

"It's pretty shocking to look at, isn't it Colin? I mean he must have looked different the night that you killed him, but this is your son," Andy said to him as he folded his hands together. Colin stared at the picture that was on the table as Sharon started to talk. "We do have some questions here, Mr. Paxson, that I'm afraid only you can answer," she stated. "What's that?" he asked as he looked at her.

"Fingerprints match, dried blood matches to the boy, knife matches the wounds as well," Mike said as he joined them in Electronics. "Sounds like all we need is a confession and then we can all call it a night," Provenza stated as he glanced at his watch.

"Well, for starters, why'd you do it?" Sharon asked him as she sat there confident in her question. Colin gave a shocked look. "Do what?" he asked. "Kill your son, Mr. Paxson," Sharon stated and they watched his demeanor change. "I didn't kill my son," he claimed. Andy had enough of his lying so he slammed his fist onto the table which startled both Colin and Sharon at the same time.

"Oh, come on, Colin. We found the hunting knife that you used to stab Hudson in his chest! We found the sleeping bag you used to carry his body in as it was still full of dried blood! We also have your fingerprints on the knife, Hudson's dried blood on that knife, and there was blood residue in your sink in the garage from when you tried to clean the knife off!" Andy explained to him loudly and Colin just sat there.

Sharon could see the anger from Andy and she needed him to calm down. She touched his knee with her hand and Andy stopped and looked down at the table and his hands. He took a deep breath and then looked at Colin.

"You see, that's the problem with blood. It never goes truly away no matter how many times you try to get rid of it," Andy said as Sharon pulled out more pictures of the knife, of Colin's garage, and the sink inside the garage. "So, why'd you kill your son? The only son you had. Who most fathers would do anything for their children," Andy spoke.

Andrea had then walked into Electronics at that point. "I understand you called the DA's office. You're lucky I was still there writing a case study," she said as she leaned up against the file cabinet in the back. "Yes, Hobbs we are lucky you can grace us with your presence tonight," Provenza said sarcastically. "So what do you have?" she asked them. "Well, we discovered the body of a nine year old boy who had been missing since March of this year, and it looks like the father is about to confess," Provenza stated as they all continued to listen to the interview.

Colin looked up from the pictures directly at Andy. "You don't know what it's like to have your child taken away from you by the courts. And then to get a stupid judge to grant you visitation rights, but only every other month? My ex-wife did not deserve full custody of our son!" Colin stated. Andy knew exactly what that felt like, although his background was different than Mr. Paxson's.

"I do know what that is like, Colin. You see, I was there at that point where all I wanted to do was see my children as they grew up, but my ex-wife had gotten full custody of them and I only saw them every other weekend, and I had to prove that I was fit to be a father," Andy started to talk to him. Sharon lightly touched Andy's left arm as he continued. "But, unlike you, I would do anything for my kids," Andy stated as he looked at Colin.

"She took him away from me," Colin muttered as Andy quickly glanced at Sharon. "So now I took him away from her, forever," he added as he sat there staring at the pictures. He showed no remorse for his actions. Sharon broke the silence when she passed over the notepad to Mr. Paxson. "We need you to write down everything you just said for us," she stated to him. He picked up the pen and started writing everything down.

"So, Hobbs, what is the charge going to be in this?" Provenza turned to Andrea who couldn't believe what she had just heard from Colin. "Murder one," she said as she shook her head. Provenza nodded at Mike who then left the room and headed to his desk.

Colin was done writing and passed the notepad across the table to Sharon. Sharon picked it up and read it. It was his confession. She nodded to Andy and Andy then stood up and walked over to where Colin was sitting. "Stand up," he told him and Colin stood up. "Turn around," Andy instructed him as he pulled out his handcuffs and placed them on Colin's wrists as he held them behind his back. "You're under arrest for the murder of Hudson Paxson," Sharon informed him and watched as Andy led Colin out of the room.

He met up with Provenza and they both walked Colin down to booking. All the while, Colin never showed any emotion as Andy led him away. When they arrived down at booking, Colin remained silent during the whole process. All Andy wanted to do was pound into the guy, but Sharon's voice inside his head told him otherwise. Provenza kept a close eye on Andy as well while they were down there.

It was now after ten o'clock at night; they both returned back to the Murder Room and saw Amy clearing the board. Sharon walked out of her office and saw her team all there. "Why don't we all head home now, we can finish this up tomorrow, like around nine am," Sharon suggested. "Hey Andy, I typed up the booking paperwork for you while you guys were down there, all it needs is your signature," Mike said to Andy. "Thanks," Andy said as he signed the form and handed it back to him.

The team started to leave which left Provenza, Andy, and Sharon there. Provenza walked over to Andy. "Are you going to catch a meeting tonight?" he asked him. Andy looked at his watch and shook his head. "No, but I'll catch one tomorrow night," he said quietly and then turned around to see if Sharon was ready to leave. "We still got to pick up Matthew and Moxie from Nicole's house tonight," he added and Provenza nodded. "Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow," Provenza said and then walked out of the office.

Sharon was talking to Nicole on the phone and informed her that they were getting ready to leave and should be at their house in twenty minutes, considering there wasn't traffic this late at night. She then gathered her bag and met Andy by his desk. She ran her hand on his shoulders as she came around to his side. "I spoke to Nicole, she said he was no trouble at all, did his homework, and he's on their couch right now," she said as she ran her hand down his arm.

Andy looked up at her from his chair and took her hand in his. "I know you're worried about me," he started off in a whisper. "I am," she said as she took her free hand and cupped his face. They were both exhausted from this case. Andy stood up and pulled Sharon in for a hug. "Let's get our son, and the dog, and go home," he whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes as he hugged her.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 5

By the time they arrived at Nicole and Dean's house, it was almost eleven at night. Nicole answered the door and Andy gave her a smile. "Hey sweetheart," he leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Dad, you look exhausted!" Nicole said as she stepped aside to let him in. Sharon was right behind him and Nicole greeted her with a kiss and hug. "Sorry it's so late, Nicole," Sharon apologized.

"No need for apologies, Sharon. I'm just glad you guys are all right," Nicole said as Sharon stepped in the house. Andy walked over to where Matthew was sleeping on the couch. He had a blanket over him and Moxie was lying on the floor next to him. Moxie stood up and was wagging his tail when he saw Andy. Andy petted the dog's head and then turned his focus on Matthew. "Hey, buddy, time to wake up," he said as he shook Matthew gently to wake him.

"Daddy," Matthew whispered as he woke up and stretched his arms. "Come on, Mommy and I are here to take you home," he said to him as he helped Matthew stand up. "Did you get the bad guy?" Matthew asked as he walked over to get his backpack. "Yes," Andy said as he picked up Moxie's leash and placed it on his collar. "You got everything?" Andy asked him and Matthew nodded.

"So how bad was this case, if you don't mind me asking?" Nicole said to Sharon as they stood and watched Andy from the foyer. "Not one of our worst cases, but bad enough," Sharon said in a quiet voice to Nicole. Nicole looked at her further but Sharon didn't want to elaborate and Nicole understood.

Matthew walked over to Sharon and gave her a hug. Sharon rubbed his back as they hugged. "Did you have a good time here tonight?" she asked him. "Yes," he mumbled and then stood by the door. Andy watched the exchange as he held Moxie's leash. "Thank you again, Nicole," Sharon said to her as they walked out. "Not a problem," Nicole said as she opened the front door. "Thank you," Matthew called out as he walked outside.

Andy leaned in again to his daughter. "Have a good night," he said to her and gave her a kiss good bye. "Good night Dad, night Sharon," Nicole called to them as they walked down the driveway to their car. Matthew climbed inside and Moxie jumped next to him. Andy closed the door and then waved to Nicole as Sharon got in the front seat. A minute later, they were headed home.

It was a quiet drive home. Andy was sure that Matthew had fallen back asleep. He glanced over at Sharon to see if she was still awake and she was. He leaned his right hand over and grabbed her left hand. She turned to him and gave him a weary smile.

They drove in silence but Sharon knew that what Colin had said earlier that night had bothered Andy. It hit a nerve with him and she needed to step in before something else happened. "Andy, you're nothing like Colin. You are a wonderful father who'd do anything for your children. You're a wonderful grandpa to two step-grandkids who just adore you," Sharon reassured him as she still held on to his hand.

Andy glanced at her again as he pulled down their street. "I'm okay," he reassured her. "I'll grab a meeting tomorrow night after work," he added as he pulled into their driveway. He opened the garage door, hoping that he didn't wake Rusty. His car was on the side of the driveway. They didn't get a chance to see him when Andrea was in the Murder Room because Andrea had sent him back to her office to start some of the paperwork for the case.

He pulled into the garage and turned the car off. He looked over the seat and saw the Matthew was sleeping. "I'll get him, you take Moxie inside," he said to Sharon and gave her a wink. Sharon stepped out of the car, went to the back seat, and opened the door. She grabbed Moxie's leash and he jumped out of the car. Sharon then grabbed her bag from the front seat and walked towards the house with Moxie.

Andy came around and undid Matthew's seat belt. He watched him for a split second. He closed his eyes as he thought back to seeing Hudson's body. He shook his head, trying to get the images out of his mind. Andy then picked Matthew up and out of the car. He held him in his arms as he closed the car door. He then shut the garage door and then made his way towards the house, carrying him. Sharon turned around as she opened the back door of the house and saw Andy carrying Matthew. "You're going to hurt yourself by doing that," she whispered to him.

"Nonsense!" Andy whispered back to her and brought Matthew inside the house. He then headed for the stairs to go up to Matthew's room. He stopped once he got to the stairs and contemplated carrying him all the way up there. He shifted Matthew in his arms and started to climb the stairs. Sharon shook her head at him as she followed him.

Andy then placed Matthew on his bed and tucked him in. Sharon went into their bedroom and got herself ready for bed. Andy loosened his tie as he sat down on the chair in Matthew's room. He had turned on the small lamp next to Matthew's bed. A lot of things were going through Andy's mind as he sat there and watched Matthew sleep.

He wanted to feel numb when he saw Hudson's body lying there in that makeshift hole. And he knew how and what exactly would make him feel that way. However, he knew that wanting a drink wouldn't make the pain, sadness, and anger go away. He shook his head trying to get that out as well. He had a lot of anger pent up and it needed to be released. He wanted to release it on Colin Paxson but, he also knew that being written up for police brutality was not something that he needed, and he didn't want to ruin Sharon's reputation by doing so.

Sharon went looking for Andy when she was finished changing her clothes. "Hey," she said in a quiet voice as she watched Andy sit in Matthew's room. He looked up at Sharon and she could tell by his eyes that he wasn't okay at that moment. She walked over to him and stood next to him as she didn't want to block his view of Matthew. She rubbed his back and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"When I saw the body of that kid, all I could think about was Matthew," his voice cracked as he whispered to Sharon. "All the what-ifs popped into my head," he added and Sharon bent down to kiss his cheek. "I'd do anything for our kids, yours and mine, and now Matthew," he whispered. "I know you would," Sharon answered him as she continued to rub his shoulders. She glanced over at Matthew on his bed.

"Then you have someone like Colin, who doesn't care what he did to his kid. He lied about it, not just once, but several times," Andy kept talking, barely above a whisper but Sharon heard him and kept listening. "He's a dirt bag that didn't deserve what he got," he concluded as he was now tired from the whole day. It had finally caught up to him. "Andrea is going to try him for murder in the first degree, and she will get a conviction, there's no doubt about that," Sharon said as she stood in front of him now. She reached for his hands and he gave them to her. She then tugged on his hands and he stood up from the chair.

"Come on," she said as she caressed his face. "You look exhausted," she added as she took a hold of his hand again and led him back in to their bedroom. Sharon helped him change his clothes. He placed his gun in the safe in their closet. He then climbed into bed next to Sharon and she held him close to her. She finally felt him relax in her arms a couple of minutes later. She took a deep breath and sighed as she held him. She knew that as long as they were police officers, this wouldn't be the last time they had a case like this one. Andy wrapped his arm around her waist and they fell asleep.

The next morning, Sharon had let Andy sleep in a little and she got ready for work. She was in the bathroom getting dressed when she saw Andy walk in to the room and join her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. "Morning," she said to him and smiled as she watched him in the mirror. "Morning," he mumbled as he kissed her neck.

"Why didn't you wake me when you got up?" he asked as he stepped to the side to let her finish. He looked at himself in the mirror and ran his hand through his hair. "I thought you deserved a few more minutes of sleep," Sharon said and turned to him with her smile. He watched her finished putting on her make-up and then he proceeded to wash his face.

"I'm going to get Matthew up and ready for school, take your time and I'll see you downstairs," she told him and then she blew him a kiss. He blew her a kiss and finished getting himself ready for the day. Andy pulled out his blue dress shirt to match Sharon's shirt and a blue striped tie. He then threw on his grey suit jacket and made sure he had everything else before he headed downstairs.

Andy saw Matthew sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, already dressed for school. "Hi kiddo," he said to him as he leaned down and kissed him on his head. Matthew didn't think anything of that gesture and continued to eat his food. Andy then walked over to Sharon and she handed him a bowl for his cereal. He leaned in and quickly kissed her before fixing his breakfast.

"So, Matthew, Daddy and I should be done on time today, we could pick you up as soon as school lets out or if you want to go to the after school care today, we could pick you up from there," Sharon said as she sat down at the table. "Um, could we play ball tonight after you pick me up?" Matthew thought about it and asked Andy. "Sure, we could do that," Andy said in between spoon-fulls.

They dropped Matthew off at school on time and then headed to drop Moxie off. Once that was done, they headed into work. It was a little bit later than when they normally did but Sharon had given everyone the extra time to get to work this morning.

"I thought we would call Robby up this morning and let him know the outcome of his cold case," Sharon said as Andy drove. "Yeah, that sounds fine," he said as he got off at exit 2C on the 101. Normally they didn't take the 101 freeway into work but Andy decided to do so today. He drove them to the PAB and stopped at a stop light on Spring Street. He looked to his left and saw City Hall. There were some people protesting outside but it seemed to be a peaceful protest.

There were a lot of people crossing the street and their car was first at the stop light. A person slammed both of their fists on top of their car's hood. This startled Sharon and Andy turned to look at the guy, but didn't get a good look at him. "What the?" Andy started to say and watched the guy walk away towards City Hall. He rolled down his window. "Hey!" he called out to the guy but the guy kept on walking. The light turned green and the car behind them started to honk his horn. Andy was furious but Sharon placed her hand on his arm. "Let it go," she said and Andy reluctantly proceeded to the PAB parking garage.

Bill Croelick recognized the car that was waiting at the light as he crossed the street towards City Hall. He'd know that car, especially those occupants anywhere. He thought he would startle them to see if he could get a rise out of Lieutenant Flynn. When he slammed his fists into the car's hood he looked directly at Andy but Andy was distracted by the protest that was going on. Bill decided to keep on walking. He heard Andy yelling towards his direction but he just kept going. He figured he would mess with his favorite Lieutenant another time.

"What did that guy think he was doing, slamming his fists onto the hood? And why?" Andy said as he pulled into their parking spot and turned off the car. Andy sat there and thought for a minute while Sharon watched him. "I'm sure he was just some random guy who doesn't like the Police and saw an opportunity to slam his hands onto the hood of the car," Sharon tried reasoning but when she heard her reason, it didn't really make any sense. "But we're in an unmarked car," Andy muttered.

"We got a palm print, and I'm sure fingerprints as well. I could ask Mike to fingerprint the car and see if we can get a match on the prints," Andy said as he stepped out of the car and looked over the hood. "And what is that going to do?" Sharon asked him. Andy huffed as he thought about it. "I don't know," he said and walked over to join her on the other side of the car. "Andy," she cupped his face in her hands. "Hmm?" he said, feeling defeated at the moment.

"Let's get through this day without starting another case. You promised Matthew you would play catch with him after school, and you are not putting off going to your meeting for another night," she told him which he understood. "Okay," he mumbled and then they walked towards the elevators and proceeded up to the ninth floor.

The morning and rest of the afternoon went smoothly as the team finished all of the paperwork associated with the last case. Andy walked over to Mike's desk after they handed in their paperwork to Sharon. "Hey, Mike, um, can you come with me for a second, oh and bring your duster with you?" Andy said cryptically to Mike as he kept glancing over at Sharon's office. "What for?" he asked Andy as he also was looking to see what Sharon was doing.

"Some idiot this morning slammed his fists onto the hood of my car," Andy tried to explain to Mike as subtly as possible. "Oh, and let me guess, the Commander told you to let it go?" Mike said and smiled. "Yeah," Andy sighed as he looked at Mike. "Secret's safe," Mike said as he stood up and followed Andy out the other side of the room.

They arrived at the parking garage and walked over to where Andy had parked the car. "Where in general did he place his hands?" Mike asked Andy as he walked to the front of the car. "Right in this area," Andy pointed to the one area of the hood. "Okay, let's see what we can find, shall we?" Mike said as he pulled his dusting kit from his small bag. He then began to dust the hood for fingerprints. It took Mike less than a minute to do so and then he pulled off some prints and placed them onto a blank card.

Mike then wiped the front of the car with a cloth. "Hey thanks Mike," Andy said as they walked back to the elevators. "No problem, we'll just run the prints in the system and see if there's a match. Hopefully, there won't be, otherwise," Mike said as the elevator took them back up to the ninth floor. "Yeah I know, then we'd have to notify Sharon," Andy sighed.

Just then, Sharon texted Andy asking him where he was. Andy pulled out his phone and read the message. He texted her back that he was just coming back into the office. When they walked inside the room, Sharon was there speaking to Provenza about something. Sharon noticed Mike was carrying his small bag and then looked at Andy. She gave him a look and he knew she had put two and two together. She shook her head as Andy walked back towards his desk.

"Lieutenant, can I see you in my office," Sharon said as she passed Andy's desk up on her way back to her office. Andy looked down as he stood up and walked into her office. He closed the door behind him and then stood in front of Sharon. "I thought I told you to drop the hood incident this morning?" she stated to him. Andy looked at Sharon. "You did but I thought," Andy started to say but Sharon interrupted him. "That was an order, not a request, in case you needed reminding," she said and he slowly nodded his head.

"I'll grab the card before Mike runs it in our system," Andy said and then started to walk away. He paused before opening the door of her office and walked out. He went over to Mike's desk and stopped him before he ran anything. "Um, on second thought, that's okay Mike, thanks anyway," Andy said as he took the card from Mike and then walked back to his desk and placed the card inside his desk drawer.

Everyone was ready to leave for the day. Sharon had dismissed her team and she was in her office just gathering up some things before her and Andy headed to pick up Matthew. Andy waited outside her office like a lost puppy. She walked up to him and he stood there and apologized. "I'm sorry about earlier with the fingerprints," he said. "It's fine, Andy," she smiled at him and he followed her out of the office.

They stood at the elevators in silence. When the elevator doors opened, they both walked in and Sharon hit the button for the garage. Andy stood there and watched her. "I wanted to have a drink," he said quietly to her as they rode down in the elevator. "What? When?" she responded as she looked at him. The doors opened to the parking garage and Andy hesitantly walked out and waited for Sharon to follow him.

"When we found Hudson at that park, when he was first uncovered, I wanted a drink," he confessed to her as they walked to their car. "Andy," she whispered. "There was this voice in my head, telling me to get numb, but then there was another voice saying I have a good thing going with my family and not to destroy that," he continued and they stood at the passenger door side of their car.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked him as she held his hand. He looked at their hands, intertwined with one another. He shrugged his shoulders and then looked up at her. He thought he would see her ashamed of him, but her look surprised him once again. He saw love looking back at him. "I think that's why I was so adamant about getting those fingerprints lifted off of the car, I needed something to distract me until I could get to a meeting or find the courage to tell you," he said.

She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. "I know what I have to lose and I'm not going to lose you Sharon, or the kids," he said quietly. "One day at a time, right?" she said to him and he nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why didn't you say something last night?" she said as he held her door open and she sat down in the passenger seat. "I was still processing everything that happened," he said, unsure of himself.

He closed her door and went around to the driver's side. He felt better that he told Sharon, but he didn't want her to be disappointed in him. This wasn't the first time Andy told her that he thought about a drink and it wouldn't be the last time either. "Do you want to go to a meeting now? We can pick Matthew up later this afternoon?" she asked him but he shook his head. "I promised him we would play catch and I'm going to keep that promise, just like I kept my promise to you," he squeezed her hand.

"There's a meeting that I will go to tonight, after I play catch with Matthew and after we eat dinner together," he stated to her as he started the car and they headed to Matthew's school. Sharon thought about what Andy had just confessed to her. She knew that he was having a hard time with this case. She also thought that he was handling it pretty well. He had kept his anger in check during the interview and afterwards. She trusted him with his sobriety and knew that if he had any inclination of wanting a drink, he had his support system, which included her. She had just hoped that it would be enough to get through this bout as she held his hand in the car.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thank you for the great reviews on this story. This will be the last chapter. I am working on another story that will be set a couple of months after this one ends. Stay tuned for that!

Chapter 6

The Flynn clan had arrived home later that afternoon and Sharon was in the kitchen making dinner for them. When they had picked up Matthew from school, both Sharon and Andy gave Matthew a hug and held him tight. Matthew didn't ask either of them why, he was just happy that he was part of their family.

Andy and Matthew were currently in the backyard playing catch and Moxie watched them. Sharon was letting the food bake in the oven and decided to check in on her boys in the yard. "Dinner's almost ready, maybe another twenty minutes or so," she called out to the both of them as Andy threw the ball back to Matthew.

Andy was going to his meeting tonight and had found a later one so that he could spend time with Matthew. This case had proved to be a difficult one all around. Andy could relate to the notion of not being able to see your kids just like Colin Paxson, but as Sharon quickly kept reminding him, he was nothing like that guy. He had worked hard on building his relationship with his children after he got on the straight and narrow.

She was proud of him, even though he tried her patience this afternoon with those fingerprints he lifted, or had Mike lift for him. She was also glad that he confessed to her about wanting a drink. She knew that he worked hard every day and was glad that he confided in her, even though he had waited a while to tell her.

Hearing her name being called brought her back to the yard and she saw Matthew running over to her. "Mom!" he called out again and then stopped running as soon as he got in front of her. "Hey, what's going on with my favorite baseball player?," she said to him as she gave him a hug. "That's like the fifth time you and Dad have hugged me since picking me up from school today," Matthew stated.

"Is there something wrong with that?" she asked him as she saw Andy walking towards them. He had been in the garage putting away the baseball gloves and ball they had used. "No, I'm going to go wash up now and get ready for dinner," Matthew said and then ran inside the house with Moxie.

"Hi," she said to Andy as he approached her. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. "I missed you," he mumbled to her in between giving her kisses. "Andy we worked all day yesterday and solved a cold case, plus we were in the office all day together today," Sharon reminded him. "I know, but I missed that glow in your eyes of you solving a murder, and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you that sooner," Andy said to her as they walked into the house together. Sharon chuckled at his comment. "How are you doing?" she asked him. "I'm good," he said as he gave her his smile.

Andy was setting the table for them and Matthew helped. Sharon removed the food from the oven and brought it over to the table where they all sat down and ate. They had asked Matthew how his day was at school and listened to the various stories that he told them.

Andy had glanced at his watch and saw it was quickly approaching that time for him to leave for his meeting. He helped Sharon clear the table and rinse the plates off. He then turned to her and gave her another quick kiss. "I should be back home in a couple of hours," he told her and she nodded. "Okay, be careful," she said to him.

Matthew looked up from the table and saw his father grabbing his car keys. "Where are you going?" Matthew asked him. They never really discussed his meetings with Matthew before. "Oh, well I have a meeting that I go to and tonight it's at 7 o'clock," he told him. "What kind of meeting?" Matthew asked as he walked with Andy towards the back door of the house. "It's like a group meeting, a bunch of people get together to discuss things," Andy had said, hoping that would end the curiosity of Matthew. "Okay," Matthew said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be home tonight before you go to bed, okay?" Andy said to him and then ruffled his hair. Matthew laughed and watched Andy leave.

Matthew then walked back into the kitchen and found Sharon still putting dishes into the dishwasher. "What kind of meeting does Dad go to?" he asked her. "Um, well, it's complicated Matthew," Sharon had told him. "Sometimes, Daddy needs to go to these meetings and talk about things that happened," Sharon tried explaining it to him on simple terms. "Why doesn't he just talk to you about it?" Matthew asked and Sharon could clearly see he was not going to let this go.

"Well, sometimes he does and we discuss them, but other times, like today, he needs these meetings to work through some things," Sharon said, hoping that would end his curiosity. Matthew looked at her with a blank face. "Someday when you're older, you'll understand," she added. "So, how about we check your homework and then maybe we can watch a movie while we wait for Dad to come back home," she smiled at Matthew. "Okay!" he said and went to get his backpack.

Andy arrived at the church hall where his meeting was being held. It was about a twenty minute drive so it wasn't that far away. He had been to this location before. He walked inside and found a place to sit down. He glanced at his watch and he had about five minutes before the meeting was supposed to start.

He sat there and thought through their day yesterday at work. What a whirlwind day that had been. They had a case given to them because the leads went cold, and within that morning, they already had suspected the father of doing it, but they needed more evidence, which they discovered after they had searched the state park and found the body of the missing boy. Andy shook his head as he tried to clear that image of the boy out of his head.

They searched the father's house and had found the murder weapon, found the father and got him to confess. They arrested him late last night. It was not a happy ending in the case, but they did bring justice to the mother of the boy and the boy himself, as Andy thought through some more. What he really wanted to do was beat that guy to a pulp, stick a note on him, and send him into prison with everyone knowing that he killed his little boy. And for what? Because he didn't want his ex-wife to have full custody of him. Andy sighed and shook his head again.

He then noticed that there were more people walking in and the meeting was getting ready to start. The moderator of the meeting stood up in front of everyone gathered and gave his story. Then after that, someone else talked about their addiction. Andy listened to three more people discuss their lives before he stood up and discussed what had happened yesterday. "When I saw that little boy, buried in the dirt, left there all alone, a little voice in my head said I could take away the pain I was feeling at that moment, if I just had one drink," he stated and then looked down at his shoes.

"But I know I'm stronger than that voice in my head," he concluded. "Did you arrest the person that did that?" someone asked him. "Yeah, we did," he answered them and then sat down. "Thank you for sharing that with the group," the moderator had told Andy and then the meeting went on. He sat there and listened to more people talk and then the meeting ended with everyone reciting the Serenity prayer as usual.

"Those cases never get better," a guy came up to Andy where he was standing in the room. "No, they never do," Andy replied. "You a cop?" Andy asked him. The guy nodded. "Retired Captain, I was with the NYPD and when I retired, my wife and I moved here to Los Angeles," he said to Andy. Andy shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," Andy said. They swapped stories as the guy told Andy about some of the things he had gotten into while on the NYPD as a detective. Andy then told him about some of the shenanigans he and Provenza had gotten into over the years.

Andy glanced at his watch and saw the time was now closer to 10 o'clock. He knew Matthew would probably be in bed by the time he got home. "Uh, I got to go, my wife and kid are waiting up for me, but uh, it was nice meeting you, Good luck with everything!" Andy told the guy as they walked out of the church hall. "Yeah, you too!" the guy said and then walked away from Andy. Other people were leaving the meeting at the same time as them.

Andy got in his car and drove home. When he pulled into the driveway, he was surprised to see the lights in the downstairs were still on. He'd figured Sharon and Matthew were in bed already as it was 10:30 by the time he walked in the back door. He placed his keys on the kitchen counter and walked over to the sink to grab a glass of water. Moxie came into the kitchen, wagged his tail, and greeted Andy. Andy petted the dog and then walked into the rest of the house, looking for Sharon and Matthew.

He heard noise coming from the TV in the family room and figured they were in there. When he walked in there, he saw Sharon and Matthew curled up on the couch and they were watching _Cars_. He leaned over the couch and gave Sharon a kiss on her neck. She hummed in response. "Hey, how was your meeting?" she turned around the face him as he stood behind her. "Good, how are things here?" he asked her as he walked around the table and motioned her to scoot over so he could sit next to her.

"Good, he wanted to watch this movie and fell asleep not too long ago," Sharon whispered to Andy as he held her close to him. "He kept asking me about your meeting when you left," she told him as she ran her hand down the front of his shirt. "He asked me about it too, as I was leaving," he replied as he gently ran his fingers up and down her arm. They let the movie finish before they turned off the TV.

Andy stood up first and then reached his hand out for Sharon to grab. She did and he pulled her up into his arms. "I love you," he whispered in her ear as he held her. She smiled as she laid her head against his chest. "I love you too," she said in response and rubbed her hands up and down his back. "It's getting late," Andy said and she agreed. Sharon turned around and walked over to Matthew to wake him up. "Sweetie, the movie is over, time to go upstairs," she said to him as she gently rubbed his arm, to nudge him awake. Matthew sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "You're home," he said to Andy as he stood up and stretched.

Andy saw that Matthew was already in his pajamas. One less thing to do upstairs, he thought to himself. "Come on buddy, time for bed," Andy said to him and then walked with him towards the stairs. Sharon turned out the main light in the room but left a small lamp on the table on. She then joined them at the stairs and followed them up to the second floor. Moxie bounded up the stairs and went right into Matthew's room.

Matthew then entered his room and pulled back the covers on his bed and climbed in. "Good night Dad!" he said to Andy in a sleepy voice. "Night buddy," Andy said to him and kissed his forehead. He then watched Sharon do the same thing and then they walked out of Matthew's room, and closed the door behind them.

They crossed the hall and entered their room. "I'm going to grab a quick shower," she said to him as she walked towards the bathroom. "Okay," he mumbled as he sat down at the edge of the bed and took his shoes off. He noticed that she was still standing in the middle of the doorway to the bathroom when he looked up at her.

"Would you like to join me?" she asked him as she placed her hand on her hip and leaned up against the doorframe. Andy was speechless for a moment. "I could use a good distraction in there," she said in a sultry voice. Andy stood up and joined her at the door to the bathroom. "I could too," he whispered into her ear as he ran his hands up and down her arms. "Distract away," she replied as she pulled him in for a kiss.

He maneuvered her into the bathroom and they took off each other's clothing, leaving them in a pile by the sink. Still kissing her, Andy moved Sharon over to the shower where he stopped long enough to turn the shower on and got the desired water temperature. He stood in the shower first, and offered his hand for her to take. She gladly grabbed it and stepped into the shower, joining him. They took their time in there. Letting the water wash away all of the ugliness of the previous day.

They had made love in the shower and then again against the bathroom vanity, before finally falling into bed with one another. It was well past midnight, and Andy held Sharon close as she lay on top of him. They both had needed each other tonight. She smiled into his neck as he ran his hands along her back. "You need to get some sleep," she whispered to him. "So do you," he chuckled quietly.

She laid there and fingered his scar on his left shoulder. It always reminded her the close calls they have had. He had numerous scars on his abdomen from stab wounds to gun shots. But he always came out okay, and she was always grateful for that. "Why do you like touching my scars?" he sighed as he moved them unto their sides. "It reminds me of all the close calls you've had," she whispered as he looked into her eyes. He bent down and kissed her.

"I hoped your meeting helped you," she asked him as they continued to lie there, holding each other close. "It did, sorry I got home later than I wanted to," he caressed her side. "Hmmm, I've told you before, as long as you keep up those meetings, and they help you through, I don't mind because they help make you a better person," she said as she kissed him. "You make me a better person, Sharon," he confessed to her as they broke apart.

Just then there was a knock on their bedroom door. Sharon's heart beat a little faster when she heard that. "It's Matthew, can I come in?" Matthew's voice was muffled between the door. "Um, hang on a second!" Andy called out as he got out of bed and put his pajama pants back on. He then threw on a t-shirt while Sharon quickly got dressed in her pajamas.

Andy made sure she was dressed before he opened the door. "What's going on?" Andy asked as Matthew walked in with a pillow and blanket while Moxie followed him. "I had a bad dream," Matthew mumbled as he stood at the foot of their bed. Andy closed the door and saw that Moxie found a place to sleep by their dresser.

Sharon scooted up on the bed to see what Matthew was doing. He was setting up his blanket on the floor and placed his pillow there as well. He then laid down on top of it and covered himself up. She glanced at Andy who was watching Matthew as well. "You okay, buddy?" Andy asked him. "Yeah," Matthew replied and then he closed his eyes. Andy glanced up at Sharon and he shrugged his shoulders. He then got back in bed himself.

Sharon was still watching Matthew sleep on the floor. "He's fine," Andy whispered to her and ran his hand down her arm to try to get her to go to sleep. She settled herself back down and turned on her side to face Andy. "The kid had a bad dream and he wants to sleep in here," he further whispered to her. "I know but," Sharon whispered and Andy placed his finger on her lips. "I know, you worry about him," he whispered. She smiled. "I worry about you too," she whispered as she scooted closer to Andy. He held her close to him.

"I'm doing okay, I think," he whispered to her as he pecked a kiss on top of her head. She smiled as he continued to hold her. "I got this gorgeous woman who just drives me crazy at any time, knows exactly what I need, and when I need it. She's not afraid to kick me in my butt if I get out of line, she's an exceptional boss at work and pretty fantastic person at home. She's an incredible mom, an incredible partner and friend, an incredible lover, and I thank God every day for her being in my life," he whispered to her as she shifted in his arms.

"Well, who am I to argue with that?" she said, smiling as she looked at him. She leaned down and kissed him. "I love you," she kissed him again. "I love you too," he said and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating. Andy fell asleep and as he slept she leaned over to see what Matthew was doing. He was sound asleep and then she glanced at Moxie who was sleeping on the floor next to Matthew. She smiled again and then settled back down and laid her head on Andy and fell asleep herself.

The End


End file.
